The present invention relates to ratchet devices and, in particular, to ratchet wrenches of the reversible type having a manually-operated reversing member. The invention relates in particular to seals for the reversing member.
The present invention is an improvement of the reversible ratchet wrench disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,220. In that wrench a wrench body has a generally pear-shaped ratchet head with a cavity formed in one side thereof for accommodating the ratchet assembly, which includes a ratchet gear and a spring-biased pawl engageable with the gear in forward, reverse and non-ratcheting positions for controlling the mode and direction of operation of the ratchet mechanism. The operating position of the pawl is controlled by a reversing member which has hub or stem extending though an opening in the ratchet head and into a hollow neck portion of the pawl which projects up into the opening, being secured to the pawl with a suitable fastener. An annular lip seal is provided between the ratchet head and the neck portion of the pawl. The cavity is closed by a cover plate retained in place by screws and provided with appropriate seals. The apparatus works well, but requires the use of a separate fastener to retain the reversing member and is relatively complicated and difficult to disassemble for purposes of replacement of the pawl seal.
Other types of ratchet assemblies have been provided with seals between a reversing member and a ratchet head, but they have utilized more complex ratchet mechanisms.